Biden urges port operators to increase wages after 45,000 workers go on strike

Strike - first by port workers on US east coast since 1977 - threatens to shut down ports from Maine to Texas

Joe Biden has urged port operators to give workers a meaningful increase" in pay after tens of thousands went on strike, prompting some of the busiest ports in the US to brace for crippling disruption.

About 45,000 port workers represented by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) began walking off the job after their contracts expired at midnight, with 36 ports along the east and Gulf coasts affected. They typically handle about half of the nation's ocean shipping.